A mutilated pet horse found knifed to death by its owner may have been sacrificed as part of a Satanic ritual, police today revealed.

Two-year-old stallion Eric was found dead in a field in Stithians, near Falmouth, Cornwall, with his right eye gouged out, his teeth removed, and his testicles sliced off.

Officers are now investigating the possibility that Eric was killed as part of a Satanic ritual as his death occurred on the same weekend as St Winebald Day.

Niche Satanic websites describe St Winebald Day on Saturday, January 7, as a date for 'blood rituals, dismemberment, animal and human sacrifice' in the Satanic calendar.

Another pony, called Barney, in Carmarthenshire was
also attacked and killed in similar circumstances to Eric over the same weekend - and investigators haven't ruled
out that the killing could also be connected to Satanic worshipers.

Devon and Cornwall Police Inspector,
Chris Strickland, said: 'There are many lines of inquiry but this is
obviously one line we're going to pursue.

'We will be keeping an open mind until more information comes to light.'

Eric was attacked over the same weekend as the Satanic festival, between 4pm on
Sunday and midday on Monday, when the horse's owner, Dawn Jewell,
discovered his mutilated body.

Sunday night also saw a full moon - which also holds significance for Satanic rituals.

Inspector Strickland added that he was aware of
discussions on internet forums linking the killing to a Satanic ritual and admitted this was a 'strong possibility' but insisted police also had
other leads.

He said: 'I have done my own research on the internet and there are people out
there who have these beliefs and so that is a strong possibility, but
there are other leads we have got as well and other possibilities or
motives.'

Officers search for clues on Dawn Jewell's land after her prized stallion was killed in a similar attack

Eric's owner said she was devastated by what had happened to the horse she had raised from a foal.

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Her mother, Vivien Allaway, said they were both 'well aware of rumours and speculation about Satanic links.

She said: 'It's not based on fact, but it's plausible so we can't dismiss it'.

Initial post-mortem tests were carried out on Erik and a full forensic examination will
be conducted.

Dyfed-Powys Police have revealed they are also investigating an attack on a
pony in Carmarthenshire on January 5, which saw the animal suffer similar
injuries to Erik, where its eyes had been gouged out.

Seven-year-old Barney the pony was found butchered in a field when his owner went to feed him. Both of his eyes had been gouged out, his stomach slit open, an ear cut off and his genitals removed.

Barney's owner, 64-year-old Linda Vickerage, was unable to move his body straight away and left his corpse in the field where he was found.

Similar attack: A horse was found mutilated in Cornwall on Sunday, its genitalia removed, an eye cut out and teeth pulled out

She said: 'When I came home in the
evening I thought there was something wrong. I went to the field with
the torch, and to my horror I could clearly see he was dead.

'I shined the torch on his face, his eyes had been pulled out and there was blood pouring from his abdomen.

'You can see a knife has been deliberately used to open his guts, it’s done with almost surgical precision.'

In a bizarre twist, police believe
Barney's killer came back the following night and carried out further
mutilations on the pony.

Ms Vickerage's 38-year-old daughter Nicola is now offering a £3,000 reward for information about the attack on Barney, which happened on her mother's smallholding in Whitland, West Wales.

A Devon horse lover Graham Rickard has also offered a £2,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the attacker.

Police are investigating the
attack along with the RSPCA. One line of inquiry will be to see if
someone has a grudge against the horse or his owner.

RSPCA
spokesman Jo Barr said yesterday: 'This is a shocking incident and I
cannot imagine what would cause someone to carry out such a cowardly and
barbaric act.

'I would urge anyone with information to contact either the police or the RSPCA.'

St Winebald Day is traditionally a small Christian festival in December celebrating the work of its namesake St
Winebald, who was an Anglo-Saxon Benedictine Abbot and Missionary, and
led a seven year pilgrimage to Rome followed by a mission to Germany
where he founded a monastery and Heidenheim.

In
recent years, small Satanic groups have marked the St Winebald Day as
January 7, and associated the date with animal sacrifice.

The next marked date on the Satanic calendar is January 17 - known as the Satanic Revels - a Satanic day for sexual rituals.